Chapter 17: Where do we go from here?
Summary: In Which Calla learns what the next chapter of her life will be.
Days like these, she missed it; missed it like the air in her lungs. The air whistling around her, wind dragging on her hair and clothing, nothing in front of her – or around her – except the bluest, most beautiful sky she had ever seen.
Flying.
Not for Quidditch or to appease a paranoid ex-auror's escape plans – but just for the heck of it, for fun, for relaxing, for forgetting there was a world beneath her, that there were any worries, that Calla Potter was anything but insignificant speck in the face of nature and the world around her.
Sitting in the grey room, watching as the Hokage commanded them all to leave, Calla wondered when the last time was she'd actually flown, just for fun.
A part of her wondered, vaguely curious, if he intended to kill her.
It'd be a real pain to come back again.
Watching the men – the adults, the ones whose kids she had babysat, the ones who helped her with contracts and business; adult who hadn't just taken the gifts freely offered by an orphaned civilian child but endeavoured to repay her and give her equivalent deals… adult she'd trusted – not fully, never fully, but in so many ways, Calla had. They were kind and affectionate with their children, and with her. They could afford to be, Calla knew, but it still meant something.
… It also meant something that, with nothing but a sharp look from the Hokage, no words uttered, they all left, without a single backward glance or any objection. They left the room, then the hallway and, at last, the building.
Of course, Calla could just always call it here and now – nothing in this world, in this life – or her previous ones – had gone as she expected. She had seen enough, really – didn't know what it was like, but it was easy to judge a society by how they treated their most vulnerable.
What she'd seen when she collected souls in Kiri, in Ame and Konoha, across the entire Elemental Nations – from the most brutal nations to the kindest, was abhorrent. Children in pain, suffering as they never should – and too many of them.
So, she could call it quits; a passing fancy, an attempt to do better and just leave this world to itself. She'd interact with ghosts of those who had once lived here and stop the reincarnation process, allowing this world – these people – to die out.
Maybe they'd had their chance, their chance to improve, to be better, to try – and failed. Abysmally.
But… it wasn't her only option, Calla knew.
She could easily kill him. She could take his soul right now – that was her domain. It was instinctual – she knew that with nothing more than a touch, she could make the Hokage drop dead.
And Calla would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted. Merlin's sake, she hadn't done anything but help – she was now in Torture and Interrogation for saving a child!
So, yes, killing him was an option – an easy one, too.
But Calla didn't feel angry or indignant. She'd been called in front of a full Wizengamot for saving her cousin; and that had been in front of people who knew who she was back then. Frankly, it was surprising it had taken this long given her frankly atrocious luck.
She just felt… despondent. Yes, that's the word. Calla was beyond feeling disappointed in the adults around her; disappointment would have meant she would have had hope at some point that they would act differently. She didn't. It had been very clear to her that this world functioned and revolved around unquestioning obedience.
So no, Calla wasn't disappointed. She was tired.
In the end, it always came back to her, didn't it? Never allowed to help people, to be in the background.
And, as it always had been, since she was a very small child – everyone would always point at her for the trigger of all their woes; a child, by all accounts, found guilty of any and all crimes in her vicinity simply by having the temerity to dare to exist.
Feeling angry was hard when it was something she was so used to her – in both the Muggle and the Wizarding world. Really, why should this one be any different?
And while killing him may seem temporarily satisfying, it wouldn't really solve anything – rather it would only exacerbate her situation unless she was willing to slaughter half of Konoha (spoiler: she wasn't).
He couldn't demote her – there was nothing lower than career genin. He could stop her from promotion, but that would be just something on paper as there wasn't really any way to get promoted either way.
The Hokage could promote her ahead of her skills on the basis of foreign talents – and demand she use them for Konoha, but she'd probably die too soon, if he took that route.
"Are you going to kill me?" Calla asked, having watched the Hokage take the seat opposite hers, watching her every movement, quietly cataloguing all her behavioural ticks and expressions.
"Do you want me to?" He asked mildly, the very picture of calm.
"No, thank you. It was very hard work surviving to this age," Calla refuted easily. More trouble than he knew, of course, not that she had any intention of telling him that.
"So, what do you think I should do with a security risk like yourself?"
His eyes were calculating, cold, the grandfatherly façade he usually employed – very reminiscent of Dumbledore – dropped.
"I don't know. You could just let me go, you know? I did just save a child from Kumo."
The Hokage hummed.
"Ah, yes, and what a well-timed, miraculous intervention that was. I'm sure you can understand why we're suspicious. How did the Kumo jounin obtain a schedule not just of the Police patrols but the Konoha ANBU patrols to know the exact best time for an attempted kidnapping. Curious, isn't it?" The Hokage was still speaking casually, as though it was nothing more than a chat over the latest tea import over a picnic rather than interrogation and potential execution.
"No comment?" He inquired, a moment later, when Calla had remained quiet.
She shrugged.
"Seemed like you had it all figured out. Don't let me stop you. A member of the genin corps with access to confidential information; this is riveting stuff, I wouldn't want to interrupt."
She blamed Draco for her relatively recent foray into sarcasm. Unfortunately, Calla couldn't blame anyone else for her bad habit of letting her temper get the better of her when yet another man in a position of authority over her – real or imagined – tried to talk down to her and dictate her life. Vernon, Snape and Voldemort were prime examples of this, naturally. And, apparently, the Hokage.
Eyes flinty, nodding sharply, the Hokage leaned forward in his seat, hands interlocked in front of him as he looked at her.
"Alright then. I have made my decision. Kara-san, you will be integrated into Team Ro in ANBU. You will not divulge your identity to anyone in ANBU – nor will you tell anyone outside of ANBU you're in it. You will hide yourself, perfectly, is that understood, genin-san? No one will know who you are. There will be no slipped or broken masks, no alluding to it, hinting or in any other way communicating it to anyone. This means: you will be working with my most loyal and under my direct command. You will use your powers as I see fit and when I command you to. You will train harder than ever before and you will keep up. Am I understood?"
ANBU then. Calla had figured it to be the least likely of his choices; who wanted an uncontrolled weapon, even if it supposedly reported to them – under their direct command, while giving them the illusion of control, also gave her unprecedented access; not just to him, but also to information. A curious choice therefore, and not one she would have chosen – or expected him to choose.
Omake at the suggestion of 1readerVB:
Calla: creates Konoha-wide massive obliviation rune scheme.
Runes *This is not the droid you're looking for* O.o
Omake (kind of) of hilarious suggestions for why Calla shouldn't be executed for treason by era-romance:
cause I won't die?
2. cause I'm a cute little kid in a puppy suit?
3. cause I'm the shinigami and can tear your soul into shreds if you try?
4. cause i have a really good reason for lying?/and that reason is?/I'm a God?/try again/I'm a pathological liar? I can't help it! (starts bawling crocodile tears)
5. cause your brat won't ever stop crying if you do?
6. cause you'll die of unsatisfied curiosity?
7. cause i'll haunt you forever and ever
8. cause when you die ill make sure you end up in the worst of my hells/and that would be?/the land of never ending overdue mandatory, yet completely unnecessary, paperwork
9. cause I'll sick the former kages on you/and why would they answer to you/know how I said I speak to dead animals?/yes/well it not JUST the animals. those three idiots would come back to life just to get revenge on you for killing their number 1 pupil. they're intense like that
10. cause I'm minato namikaze reborn?/you're 10-11, minato only died 3 years ago/ummm... time travel?
Omake by QueenCarlton:
Tell me, why should I not have you executed right now for treason?"
Calla: Please don't. This is the first time I've gone this long without having to reincarnate again. I'd hate to break my non-dying streak.
WHAT?
Calla: What? I AM the Shinigami, you know. We can do that.
WHAT? Wait, why is a Shinigami hanging around Konoha?
Calla: I figured I'd keep an eye on Minato's kid. Least I could do after sticking half a giant fox inside of him. Kinda feel bad about that to be honest.
Shikaku: *So this is what a mental break feels like.*
Hokage: *Damn it, Minato! Six feet under and you're still causing problems.*
Omake by SlyCutter:
Ninja Wars IV A New Hope
Hokage: Tell me, why should I not have you executed right now for treason?"
Kara: Go ahead. But If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
Darth Danzo: Dew it.
Hokage: *kills her
*body disappears leaving clothes on the ground
Kara in spirit world: WORTH IT!
Another Omake by SlyCutter:
I'm A Shinigami
Hokage: Tell me, why should I not have you executed right now for treason?"
Kara: Umm... I'm the shinagmi?
Hokage: *kills her
* During Sound Sand Invasion
Hokage: Shiki Fujin
Kara: Hello Hiruzen! Hello Hashirama! Hello Tobirama!
Hashirama & Tobirama: Hi Kara!
Omake by SugarOo:
Or for her to look at the hokage with her death powers and be like, " You know I've almost killed this world once. Tobirama, and Minato convinced me that I should let you live. I'm starting to think that was a bad idea. "
Omake supplied by KiwiConundrum:
Hiruzen: "What do you have to say for yourself, Genin Kara?"
Kara: "Namikaze Minato gave me the names of two trustworthy people. Yours wasn't one of them."
*hell breaks out, because everyone wants to believe they had been named as trustworthy by Minato-sama and who Kara? who did daddy love best?*
Notes:
Hi All. So sorry for the delay, some Real Life stuff happened. My grandma died. I don't know how to support my dad or what to say and I live half-way across the world and last saw my grandma years ago. She withered away in the meantime as she couldn't eat in the last bit. She was unresponsive by evening and then passed away in her sleep.
She was 101 years old - born in 1920. She lived through the aftermath of WW1 in Germany (which penalised the average German citizen, rather than the government, if you didn't know: imagine going from about 13cents for a loaf of bread to around 1.20 Deutsche Mark by the time she was born. By the end of 1923, one loaf cost 200,000 million. At that point it cost more to print the note than the note was worth.)
Then through the Second War, the loss of her brothers and sister, had 7 children and then went through the Cold War and the advent of technology, computers when she still remembered staying up as a child to wait up for the one single car pass by once a day - to thousands now. Never mind flight, moon landing etc.
It just seems incredible when you think of all they have seen - and survived. She survived some of her children, all her friends and her husband by 30 years. She had great-great-grandchildren.
I may be biased but - bestest grandma in the world.
I'm also scrambling to do legal qualifying course over the summer which is over the next few months and will suck up some of my time. I've been scrambling to acquire student loan, enrol, get all the paperwork sorted and then catch up with coursework and technical requirements. It's been... something.
I will however try and get you at least a few words of chapters every day, like an advent calendar, each day until Christmas. So sorry in advance, length will be much shorter but they will be quicker in coming as well. Hope you all enjoy.
I'll put the voting count up tomorrow.
Thanks all. We'll find out a bit more about what happened in the intervening time and other views later (maybe). We'll try and move ahead quickly to get to Naruto :) Happy First of December!